Kentucky

"Soon after, I returned home to my family, with a determination to bring them as soon as possible to live in Kentucky, which I esteemed a second paradise, at the risk of my life and fortune.
Daniel Boone

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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Logan's Fort in Lincoln County

Logan's Fort set on a slight elevation about fifty yards west of the smaller spring at St. Asaph. The fort was 90 X 150 feet and was constructed of logs. Gates were located at each end and were raised and lowered by leather thongs. The main gate faced east.

Along the south side, two blockhouses were built, one on each end, with three cabins between, which were occupied by Wm. Menniffee, Wm. Whitley and the James Mason families. On the north side, only one blockhouse was built. It was on the northwest corner. There were four cabins adjoining occupied by George Clark, Benjamin Logan, Benjamin Pettit and Samuel Coburn.

A conventional cabin occupied the northeast corner. This was the only corner of the fort without a blockhouse. The cabin that Logan built in 1775 was a part of the fort.

The fort's water came from a spring that lay 50 yards to the east. A tunnel was dug from inside the southeastern blockhouse to the springhouse, which covered the spring.

The tunnel was four feet deep and three feet wide. A person could obtain water, undetected, in time of siege by the Indians.

The land about the fort had been cleared of all trees and cane so the Indians would not have shooting cover to approach the fort. The ridge to the south of St. Asaph's Branch was not cleared and most of the firing of Indian guns came from here. The distance, 200 to 250 yards, was too great, and the shot and arrows had little effect.

At the foot of the hill, on St. Asaph's Branch, just below the fort, the settlers maintained a gristmill. In all probability, this was the first mill built in Kentucky. During his first visit to the fort in late April of 1778, Daniel Trabue spoke of eating bread - something that could not be obtained at Fort Boonesborough.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Jack Jouett- The Other Paul Revere

Jack Jouett: America
's Other Paul Revere
On the night of June 3-4, 1781, Captain John "Jack" Jouett, Jr. rode 40 miles through the backwoods of Virginia to warn Governor Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of the approach of 250 British troops.
Jack Jouett's heroic act saved the American Revolution by preventing the capture of its most important political leaders.
Jouett migrated to the Bluegrass after the war, where he played an important role in the Kentucky statehood convention, served in the legislature, and became a prosperous planter and breeder of fine horses and cattle.
He and his wife Sally Robards reared twelve children, including renowned portrait painter Matthew Harris Jouett.
This rural homestead includes a 1780's frontier stone cabin, used as a kitchen by the Jouetts. The 1797 Federal-style brick house features a formal parlor, a dining room, and three bedrooms. Period furnishings complement the rooms.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Old Talbott Tavern Bardstown

The Old Talbott Tavern, also known as the Old Stone Tavern, a historic tavern built in 1779, is located in the Bardstown Historic District of Bardstown, Kentucky, across from the historic Nelson County Courthouse. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 30, 1973. According to tradition, the tavern has never closed since its opening in 1779.